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Health at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2016

Measuring Progress towards Universal Health Coverage

This fourth edition of Health at a Glance Asia/Pacific presents a set of key indicators of health status, the determinants of health, health care resources and utilisation, health care expenditure and financing and health care quality across 27 Asia-Pacific countries and economies. Drawing on a wide range of data sources, it builds on the format used in previous editions of Health at a Glance, and gives readers a better understanding of the factors that affect the health of populations and the performance of health systems in these countries and economies.
Each of the indicators is presented in a user-friendly format, consisting of charts illustrating variations across countries and over time, brief descriptive analyses highlighting the major findings conveyed by the data, and a methodological box on the definition of the indicator and any limitations in data comparability. An annex provides additional information on the demographic context in which health systems operate.
This edition is a joint OECD, WHO/WPRO and WHO/SEARO publication.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease, characterised by high levels of glucose in the blood. It occurs either because the pancreas does not produce sufficient amounts of the hormone insulin, which regulates blood glucose, or through reduced ability to respond to insulin (i.e. insulin resistance). People with diabetes are at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. They also have elevated risks for vision loss, foot and leg amputation due to damage to nerves and blood vessels, and renal failure requiring dialysis or transplantation.